There are many manufacturing applications which require wire to be substantially continuously fed for a process or production. Generally, however, the source of such wire is finite, and must be replaced periodically. For example, the wire used in the automobile component welding process is often drawn from cylindrical barrels or similar supply rolls containing wire that is circularly packed within a source barrel. As used herein, the term “wire” encompasses relatively slender and often flexible thread or rods which can be made of metal, plastic or other material which can be connected together in a welding, fusing or similar process wherein the material flows together. One end of the wire is manually threaded into a feeder that draws the wire from the barrel and supplies the wire for component welding. A problem arises when the wire contained in the source barrel is exhausted. If the end of the wire completely runs through the wire feeding machine, then the technician must re-feed through the wire from a new or second barrel into the feeding machine resulting in costly downtime and labor costs. To solve this problem, it has been known to weld the ends of the wires from two or more barrels together to create a “never ending” source of wire. Such a process is known in the art as “butt welding.”
An issue arises, however, with “butt welding” in that a spur or burr generally develops on the wire as a result of the weld and force applied between the two wires during the butt welding process. The spur often interferes with or prevents the feeding machine process as the increased diameter caused by the spur cannot enter the feeding machine. In the past, the technician would manually weld then cut or grind the spur so that the spur would not interfere with the feeding machine process. Manually cutting and grinding the spur is often time intensive and may not necessarily solve the problem of increased diameter of the wire. Heretofore, it has been known to feed the welded wire through a machine that automatically reduces the spur. However, such machines require a worker to remove a welded wire from the welding machine and insert the welded wire into the spur reducing machine. Not only is this process time intensive and inefficient, but it does not allow the worker to immediately inspect the wire and rerun the reducing process if needed.
Another issue arises with welding the ends of wires from two or more barrels in that non-working barrels of wire need to be manipulated and positioned one by one so that the feeding machine can effectively draw the wire once the working barrel is depleted. Such activity can be very strenuous, especially for barrels weighing upward of 500 lbs. (226.8 kg) or more.
As such, there is a desire for an apparatus configured to efficiently join, reduce and distribute wire from two or more barrels thereby eliminating the aforementioned issues and to better facilitate an effectively continuous supply.